House Passes HB253 Protecting Virtual Education, Gallup-McKinley Warns $47M Shortfall

The New Mexico House of Representatives passed House Bill 253 by a unanimous 69-0 vote on Feb. 14, 2026, a measure lawmakers say restructures how the state tracks and funds full‑time distance learning programs. Billtrack50 records show HB253 was introduced Jan. 30, crossed over and passed the House on Feb. 14, and carries committee amendments, a fiscal note and an LESC analysis among its supporting documents.

House sponsors listed on the legislative record include Rep. Joy Garratt (D, HD29), with Rep. Susan Herrera (D) and Sen. Bill Soules (D) appearing as additional sponsors on Billtrack50. The bill renames the Statewide Cyber Academy Act to the Distance Learning Act, requires districts and charters to report estimated enrollment of full‑time distance learning students, mandates recordkeeping for those students, and excludes them from size adjustment program unit calculations; it also requires an interim study on virtual learning, according to the Billtrack50 summary and committee document listings.

That legislative action follows related Senate moves aimed at the same fiscal questions. The New Mexico Senate cleared Senate Bill 19 on Jan. 28 with a 36-1 vote, advancing an emergency‑clause measure sponsored by Sen. George Muñoz (D-Gallup) "that could start the process of recouping millions of dollars from Gallup‑McKinley County Schools," Yahoo aggregated reporting states, and the Senate bill includes language to expedite recovery of overpaid funds upon the governor’s signature.

The funding dispute centers on multiple, overlapping dollar figures. Yahoo reported that New Mexico Public Education Department Secretary Mariana Padilla informed lawmakers in December of a $35 million shortfall in the agency’s budget. LaDailyPost reports the gap stems from a migration in which Stride K12’s online program "moved to the Chama and Santa Rosa schools, taking the 3,000 students with it," and that under the current version of HB253 Stride "will still be prevented from receiving $38 million from the state in the current fiscal year." Gallup‑McKinley County Schools and the Gallup Chamber counter with a larger district estimate, posting on social media that "House Bill 253 is being heard 02/09 at 8:30 AM, and your voice matters. If this bill passes it will cause a $47 million dollar shortfall for GMCS this year - but there is still time to stop this legislation from moving forward."

GMCS mobilized a direct contact campaign, posting: "We are asking our community to please call members of the House Education Committee and our local legislators and urge them to vote NO on HB 253." The district supplied phone numbers and email addresses for House Education Committee leadership and members, including Chair G. Andrés Romero - 505-514-9574; andres.romero@nmlegis.gov, Vice Chair Joy Garratt - 505-986-4341; joy.garratt@nmlegis.gov, and Ranking Member Brian G. Baca - 505-986-4221; brian.baca@nmlegis.gov, along with a full committee contact list distributed in the GMCS "What Can You Do to Help?" post.

GMCS framed the fiscal mechanics explicitly in its background text: "HB 253 will take the funds from the two districts who opened the new online learning program (fixing the $35 million shortfall), and it will take approximately $47 million from GMCS. Taking any amount from GMCS will exceed the needs for NMPED’s budgetary shortfall and pull back millions in extra funding to redistribute it to other parts of the state." LaDailyPost also noted a Stride K12 representative "lauded the bill changes," though the outlet did not publish a direct quote.

Key documents remain to be examined to reconcile the competing numbers: the HB253 fiscal note, the House HEC and HAFC committee amendments (House HEC1 HB253 233731.4/233731.3 and House HAFC1 HB253 233963.2), and the LESC analysis listed on Billtrack50. With the House passage complete, the bill will advance to the Senate side for consideration alongside SB19’s emergency‑clause approach to recoupment; how the fiscal note calculates the $35 million, $38 million and $47 million figures will determine whether Gallup‑McKinley schools ultimately face the losses the district warns about.